Chris Matthews this weekend actually invited a real conservative on to the syndicated program bearing his name, and what transpired was a thing of beauty.

National Review's Reihan Salam did such a fabulous job of educating Matthews and his guests - especially Time's Joe Klein - that I imagine him quickly becoming a NewsBusters favorite.

The initial topic of discussion was Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally scheduled to occur after this was taped.

Between Matthews' disrespectful introduction, and Klein calling the conservative talk show host "a paranoid lunatic," one had the feeling this would have devolved into a full on hate-fest if not for Salam's presence.

Fortunately, the National Reviewer was there to set the record straight (videos follow with transcripts and commentary):

As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina slamming New Orleans nears, the folks at NBC offered viewers a "Meet the Press" special edition with a sadly predictable conclusion: the disaster was all George W. Bush and the federal government's fault.

The New Orleans mayor at the time was almost entirely ignored in this hour-long examination. The only mention of the state's former governor was actually one of praise.

Rather than offering one new compelling insight into the natural disaster that changed America, the invited guests all fed fill-in host Brian Williams the same old tired lines about racism and classism; despite numerous opportunities to delve into the decades of political corruption in the region that left the levees surrounding New Orleans in a dreadful state of disrepair, the subject was never broached.

Instead, what ensued - given all the time and resources available to really do a groundbreaking exposé on this issue - was something all those involved should be tremendously embarrassed for.

Frankly, that was clear right from the get go (partial video follows with partial transcript and commentary, full video and transcript here and here respectively):

Howard Kurtz on Sunday smacked down liberal talk radio host Bill Press for saying the Park Service allowing Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" event at the Lincoln Memorial was like "granting al Qaeda permission to hold a rally on September 11th at Ground Zero."

Towards the end of the opening segment of CNN's "Reliable Sources," Kurtz surprisingly brought up last Friday's disgraceful editing job by ABC's "Good Morning America" that Beck himself said was like something Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would have done.

When finished with this admonishment, Kurtz went right after Press who was seated directly in front of him (video follows with transcript and commentary):

An amazing thing happened on the set of ABC's "This Week" Sunday: a liberal tried to extol the benefits of President Obama's unrestrained federal spending only to get completely smacked down by the entire panel.

Host Christiane Amanpour began the Roundtable segment of the program by showing some of last week's horrendous economic numbers, and opened the debate about what can be done to improve the current condition.

When Democrat strategist Donna Brazile got her turn at the plate, she uttered the same nonsense Americans have been hearing from her ilk for approaching two years:

Congress is divided. They are afraid to put more money back into the system, although most Americans should know by now that the stimulus did create or save 2 million to 4 million jobs, averted the Great Depression 2.0, but Congress doesn't have the appetite to put more money into the system.

The other panelists - George Will, President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass, "Nightly Business Report" host Susie Gharib, and even Amanpour - weren't buying it (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Just moments after the conclusion of the Aug. 28 "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington, D.C., an olive branch, albeit a potentially double-edged one, was tossed between an unlikely couple very much on opposite sides of the political aisle.

To the surprise of those in attendance, the Rev. Al Sharpton has challenged Glenn Beck to come on Geraldo Rivera's Fox News program and support the building of the Ground Zero Mosque.

Appearing on "Geraldo At Large" after his own civil rights event in our nation's capital, Sharpton told the host, "Why don't you, you're here on Fox, invite Mr. Beck on the show to finish the speech?"

"He said we should all come together equal...how do we do that?"

Later in the program, Sharpton raised the bet even further saying, "He made a great statement - he said after 9/11 we all came together. All Americans, all races, all religions - therefore Mr. Beck, will you say we should stop fighting the mosque? That's where the rhetoric will hit the road" (partial transcript follows with commentary):

Judith Miller on Saturday marvelously smacked down Time magazine and Ellis Henican over the contention that America is Islamophobic.

As the discussion on "Fox News Watch" turned to Time's cover story about the nation's view of Muslims, Henican said that he attended the protests in New York last week and "there were some views expressed that I think everyone at this table would find a little troubling."

This led Miller to ask, "But, is that America?"

She continued, "That's some people who turned out to protest."

Miller then asked a question that should be posed to every liberal media member accusing Americans of Islamophobica, "Where is there any indication that America as a country is beating up on Muslims or denying them their rights?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

The hatred for Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Americans that don't agree with the current direction of this nation was dripping from Chris Matthews' lips Friday evening.

In a show filled with falsehoods and anti-Conservative rants that should even embarrass folks at MSNBC, the "Hardball" host concluded by once again attacking one of the most popular radio and television personalities in the country along with the former governor of Alaska.

Of the "Restoring Honor" rally to be held in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Matthews asked, "Can we imagine if [Martin Luther] King were physically here tomorrow, today, were he to reappear tomorrow on the very steps of the Lincoln Memorial?"

The MSNBCer disgustingly answered his own question, "I have a nightmare that one day a right-wing talk show host will come to this spot, his people`s lips dripping with the words 'interposition' and 'nullification.'"

Matthews continued practically seething venom, "Little right-wing boys and little right-wing girls joining hands and singing their praise for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. I have a nightmare" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Chris Matthews on Friday blatantly misrepresented former President George W. Bush's plan to reform Social Security in 2005.

"If George W. Bush had gotten his way and privatized Social Security and tied it to the stock market, your constituents would be 100 percent Democrats now -- 100 percent! -- because they`d be looking at their Social Security checks shrivel to nothing because they`d be based on the Dow Jones," the "Hardball" host falsely told Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

As quotes directly from the actual reform plan Bush submitted in February 2005 will demonstrate, Matthews is either completely ignorant of the facts or intentionally lied to his audience.

You decide whether the following is just a foolish mistake or a willful misrepresentation of the truth by a so-called journalist on national television (video follows with transcript, commentary, and quotes from Bush's 2005 reform plan):

In recent days, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has become a beloved press figure as a result of his unshaking support for the Ground Zero mosque.

Isn't it fascinating how in this environment where rich people are being demonized at every turn all you need to do is a support a popular liberal cause and your financial sins are instantly forgiven?

With this in mind, the good folks at Big Journalism have uncovered some rather startling financial connections between this media mogul and the Arab world that haven't raised any eyebrows from journalists that love to follow the money when there's a conservative at the other end of the smoking wallet.

As you read Mondo Frazier's marvelous piece "Follow the Money: Could Mayor Bloomberg's Media Business Interests in the Middle East Have Anything to Do with His Support of the Ground Zero Mosque?" ask yourself why the seemingly always curious press have ignored any examination of this billionaire's motives:

A new comic book launched this month presages California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise to the White House:

Is he the embodiment of the American dream? Or is he simply a man lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time? That's the question Bluewater Productions tackles in its newest biography comic, Political Power: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As Patrick Gavin writes in Friday's Politico, the authors have his ascendancy all figured out including a change to the Constitution to make it happen:

On the same day the Commerce Department dramatically revised down second quarter Gross Domestic Product estimates, New York Times columnist David Brooks published a stinging rebuke of Obama economic policies.

"The American stimulus package was supposed to create a 'summer of recovery,' according to Obama administration officials," wrote Brooks.

"Job growth was supposed to be surging at up to 500,000 a month," he continued. "Instead, the U.S. economy is scuffling along."

Scuffling is putting it mildly, for it was announced Friday that the GDP only grew by a pathetic 1.6 percent last quarter which was down from previous estimates of 2.4 percent.

With this in mind, Brooks' column was not only spot on, but a surprising indictment of everything the Obama administration has done since Inauguration Day:

Chris Matthews on Thursday said without batting an eye that he hopes Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) is elected Senator in November.

With this one declaration, it should be crystal clear the folks at MSNBC are no longer even remotely concerned about pretending they're not cable's Democrat News Network.

On Thursday's "Hardball," in a segment dealing with the upcoming midterm elections and how bleak things look for the Party currently ruling America, the host left no doubt where his sympathies lie (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Rachel Maddow on Wednesday mocked the math skills of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie only seconds before she made the exact same arithmetic mistake she bashed him for.

In a short segment about the state of New Jersey losing some education funding as a result of errors made during the application process, the MSNBC host placed all the blame on the new Republican governor.

To put a fine point on what Maddow claimed was Christie's incompetence, she played a video of the Governor on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" earlier in the day misstating the number of points Ohio edged out New Jersey for this award.

Hysterically, when the clip ended, Maddow made the very same subtraction error (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Former New York Governor George Pataki on Wednesday got into a heated discussion with Chris Matthews over the Ground Zero mosque and the Republican opposition to it.

In the middle of his second "Hardball" segment on MSNBC, Matthews played a clip of Rush Limbaugh saying on the radio earlier in the day, "If this is a nation that is Islamophobic, how do we elect a man whose name is Barack Hussein Obama?"

This led Matthews to ask his guest, "What do you think of guys that keep putting out lies like that?"

Over the course of the next five minutes, Pataki basically took over the show not only putting Matthews in his place, but also doing the same to his other guest, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (video follows with transcript and commentary):

The folks at The Onion took on Time magazine Tuesday and did so in a fashion that will put a smile on many conservative faces.

"Readers who grew up loving the magazine's bright, glossy photos, news by the numbers, and simple to understand stories will now be able to graduate to 'Time Advanced,'" reported mock newscaster Damon Werner.

"While kids love Time for its fun articles about litter and new kinds of dinosaurs, managing editor Kerry Larson explains that 'Time Advanced' will look to distinguish itself with carefully researched, long-form journalism in a smaller, adult-sized font," he continued.

NewsBusters readers will especially like the marvelous Joe Klein bashing at the end (video follows with transcript and commentary):

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